One man died and a second person was hospitalized Friday, Sept. 7, after what Fontana police believe were overdoses of the opioid fentanyl.

Sgt. Kevin Goltara said Saturday that initial tests of the garage of the home in the 18200 block of Barbee Street showed the presence of fentanyl, a finding that Goltara said must be confirmed by a crime lab. Police believe the men had only enough for personal use and not enough to sell, he said.

Medics revived one man using the temporary antidote Narcan, but the other man could not be saved, Goltara said. The dead man’s identity had not been publicly announced as of Saturday afternoon.

Fentanyl is a painkiller 100 times more potent than morphine that is legally available via prescription, but it is also illegally made. Dealers of illegal drugs sometimes mix it with heroin or Norco and pass the substance off as those drugs.

Brian Rokos writes about public safety issues such as policing, criminal justice, scams, how law affects public safety, firefighting tactics and wildland fire danger. He has also covered the cities of San Bernardino, Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Canyon Lake and Hemet. Before that he supervised reporters and worked as a copy editor. For some reason, he enjoys movies where the Earth is threatened with extinction.